Afte reading the book Testimony by Anita Shreve, I began thinking of all the moments in which I knew my life would never be the same:
- The moment I looked at the-boyfriend-who-would-become-The-Husband and knew he is the man I’ll spend the rest of my life with…
- The moment I saw two pink lines on that home pregnancy test…
- The moment I was hired for a job overseas…
- The moment I saw my newborn babies…three different times…
Testimony, a novel by Anita Shreve, tells a story of how one incident changes the course of many people’s lives in a ripple effect. The four students who were involved in the actual incident, as well as their parents, the teachers, the school’s headmaster, the townspeople and others. One incident…one moment.
I don’t know that there is one moment in which my life’s path was dramatically altered off the course it was already taking. Becoming a wife and a mother is something I’d hoped for and planned for since I was young. Living overseas was an adventure that I hadn’t dreamed of, but was a blip on the road of life that I am glad I experienced. Even the sad incident of being raped didn’t alter my life, although it altered me and my outlook on people. Is that the same thing?
I admit: I don’t want to have a moment in which everything changes. I like things the way they are right now, thankyouverymuch. I fear that anything that might change it would be a bad change. Blame the pessimist in me. Sure, I suppose we could win the Powerball (if we actually played) and that might be a good change to our lives…but there are also plenty of stories of lottery winners who are now broke.
I’m happy with the status quo of my life. I hope not to have a testimony of when my life was forever changed.
I haven’t read the book, but in my opinion those moments that change your life are easier to identify in hindsight. You look back and go, “Wow, that was transformative,” but you don’t realize the impact while it’s happening.